When brown or black hair begins a lightening journey, it will ALWAYS be golden, warm, yellow, orange during the transition stage.

When hair is lightened, it needs to be lightened to a very light blonde to be able to be an ash or creamy blonde tone.

Toners are used to change the ‘tone’ of the hair from golden to ash; or from ash to golden and everything in between.

However, the ability of the toner to bring the desired tone will depend on how light the hair is.

If your goal is to have ‘ash’ blonde hair, your hair WILL be warm/golden during a transition journey to light blonde.

Everyone’s tone will be different because everyone’s hair is different. If you have a build up of dark colours in your hair from colouring your hair dark, your tone is likely to become more golden or orange than lightening naturally brown or dark hair.

Your stylist is able to customise toners to tone your hair to a beautiful colour during the lightening process. However, please keep in mind that ash, silver or creamy tones are not achievable until you are a light blonde.

THE HAIR LIGHTENING JOURNEYFROM BROWN TO BLONDE

It’s not uncommon to see quintessential brunette’s of Hollywood flirt with blonde tones or pull off a whole new head of hair! Khloe Kardashian being a prime example. However, while it’s always exciting to try a new look, acheiving that ideal crisp blonde isn't quite as quick and easy as the celebs make it look. As a result, we’ve outlined what it really takes to best prepare you for the lightening journey and help keep your hair strong and healthy along the way!

IF YOU HAVE VIRGIN HAIR- If you’ve never coloured your hair before, that means it’s what we call virgin hair. When going from brown to blonde, having virgin hair is a big advantage. If you’ve had your hair dyed before, lifting and correcting the previous dye can lead to unpredictable and uneven tones and generally adds to the process.

IF YOU HAVE LIGHT BROWN HAIR- When refering to hair shades your stylist may use the term 'level'. Level simply refers to how light or dark a hair colour is, the lower the number, the darker the hair. The number ranges from 1-12, with 1 being the darkest black, and 12 the lightest blonde. If your hair is lighter, somewhere between a 6-12, you are in luck. Becoming a blonde will require lifting your colour a level or two. This needs to happen so that your stylist has a blank canvas to start creating the colour you want with blonde dye. As your hair is lighter, lifting your hair to the desired level will require less salon visits to make hair magic happen!

IF YOU HAVE DARK BROWN HAIR- If your hair is in the 1-6 range you're hair will need to be lifted to a much higher level. Making a drastic change like this means a higher risk of your hair's much needed moisture being stripped and causing damage to the hair follicle. This may lead to to fall out, breakage and thinning. In order to maintain the integrity of you hair you will need to lift gradually and give your hair plenty of rest in between dye jobs. You’re looking at a pretty extended process but trust us, it's worth it in the end!

OUR TOP TIPS:PATIENCE - One of the biggest risks of changing your hair colour drastically is causing irreversible damage. To avoid this scenario, it’s important to be patient with each step of the process. Transitioning from brunette to blonde is a process as it often requires multiple salon visits over a long period of time and plenty of treatments to get the right colour WITHOUT damaging the hair. Which also means being PATIENT through the various tones of warmth your hair may encounter along the way!

TREAT + CONDITION – Lightening can cause a lot of your hair's natural moisture to be stripped wich can lead to many damaging hair issues, ESPECIALLY if it’s only recently been lightened! Therefore, salon quality treatments are KEY to repairing your coloured hair and giving it the moisture it needs to remain soft and silky. At stefan we offer many treatments that your stylist can specifically tailor for your individual hair needs. Learn more about our in-salon treatments here.

TONE – Brighten up your blonde hair with a toning shampoo. The purple pigment counteracts the brassy yellow tones, making it a cooler and more balanced colour. Learn more about toning here.

In addition to these key points, on your journey to achieving a lighter look it’s also important to schedule regular trims and give your hair some downtime from heat-styling if you can. You can also use a number of at home products to keep your blonde beautiful in between salon visits! Shop our must have blonde products here.

L'OREAL SMARTBONDWHAT ARE HAIR BONDS AND HOW CAN WE PROTECT THEM?

Whilst we are committed to giving you the colour treatment you desire, it’s important we ensure your hair is protected during the process. Bonds are responsible for your hair’s natural strength and elasticity, and these bonds can be broken with the chemicals involved in bleaching and dying. Hair colour and bleach contain the chemical ammonia, which opens up the cuticle of your hair strand to allow colour treatments to penetrate the hair. L'Oreal SMARTBOND is a treatment we use at Stefan to help prevent the damage this can cause: reducing breakage and increasing your hair’s strength and shine!

L’Oréal Professionnel’s SMARTBOND is a two-part treatment that protects and strengthens the bonds of the hair during all lightening or colouring processes. SMARTBOND is perfect for all hair types as it maintains the integrity of the hair, leaving your hair looking and feeling softer, stronger and shinier!

3 Step Process:Additive (In salon)- The additive element is put in colours and lighteners, which aims to protect the bonds of the hair fibre during colour services.

Pre-shampoo (In salon)- The Pre-Shampoo is applied on the hair after rinsing the colour or once a toner is applied and rinsed for lightening. This step provides nourishing care whilst closing the cuticle.

Conditioner (At home)- To maximise results, continue the treatment at home using the SMARTBOND Conditioner once a week. The Conditioner is enriched with ceramides to nourish and further strengthen your hair, leaving you with longer lasting protection.

KERASTASE FUSIO-DOSE

If you feel like your hair is in need of some love whether it’s been feeling dry, weak, flat or just generally neglected, perhaps a Kerastase’ Fusio-Dose treatment is your answer! Kerastase’ Fusio-Dose is an in-salon treatment that combines highly concentrated care formulas with powerful boosters for custom-designed results. A bespoke blend is prescribed for you depending on the condition of your hair and its needs. There are four different Concentrates fused with five different Boosters to create 20 tailor-made combinations.A Concentrate targets your primary hair needs with the Boosters targeting your hair’s secondary needs in a single application.

Concentrate – Primary NeedsThe primary need corresponds to the condition of the hair and determines the choice of concentrate.

Boosters – Secondary NeedsThe secondary need is related to the individual’s personal expectations such as shine, density or manageability and determines the most suitable booster.

What is colour build-up and what does this mean for your hair? Colour build up is a result of over indulging and giving your hair too much colour love!If there have been too many applications of colour on top of colour over time, this will result in a build-up. In other words, a build-up of colour means the colouring process stops and you will see very little to no change in your colour.

4 SIGNS OF COLOUR BUILD UP:

Appearance- Dull and darker. The shine and gloss of your hair gets stripped away.Texture: The hair becomes course and noticeably dry.Weight- Colour build up adds weight to the hair shaft which results in heavy and weighed down hair.Uneven Colour- Dull ends and fresh regrowth are an easy way to detect colour build up.

So, what can you do if you think you might have a build-up of colour? Don’t stress, there’s always a solution! With the assistance of your local Stefan salon, all you will need is a colour cleanse or remover which will help reduce and remove the build-up of colour!

FASHION SHADES MAINTENANCE

Fashion shades are another trend seeing men and women experimenting with all colours of the rainbow to give their hair a pop of fun colour!

While embracing the shade is becoming more popular, it’s important to know your colour will shift and fade with every wash. There are ways to help maximise the life of your colour as much as possible between visits if you have the tools to help!

Infrequent shampoos - By shampooing your hair 1-2 times a week and using dry shampoo to get you through in between washes, your colour will hold better for longer. Cold water and sulphate-free shampoo will help as well.

In-Salon Treatments - A Kerastase Fusio Dose Treatment at the time of colouring will not only moisturise your locks but also lock in your new colour.

Weekly at-home Treatments – Using the Stefan Ultimate Treatment once a week will protect your colour from UV rays and moisturise your hair.

EVO Fabuloso Pro at-home - When colouring your hair at stefan your stylist will also provide you with a custom EVO Fabuloso Pro conditioner to refresh your colour in between salon visits. Read more about the EVO Fabuloso system here.

Sun Protection - Try to cover your hair when you’re outside for long periods of time as exposure to UV rays will contribute to the fading your colour.

Turn down the heat - If possible, turn down the temperature on your electrical tools and try drying your hair naturally if time permits!

Check out our must have products for coloured hair here.

EVO FABULOSO PROWHAT IS IT AND WHY DO I NEED IT?

As the name suggests, EVO Fabuloso Pro is a fabulous in-salon colour refresh and maintenance system. This system enables hairdressers to refresh, intensify and maintain your hair colour in between all colour services whether it’s permanent, demi or semi-permanent.

These colour intensifiers are ammonia and peroxide free semi-colours in a conditioner base.

Depending on what you’re after, there are unlimited semi colours created to;

To help maintain your colour in between salon visits, EVO Fabuloso Pro offers customised colour Conditioners as part of a retail service which is perfectly matched to suit your hair colour. These Conditioners help to extend the life of your hair colour, improve hair strength, increase moisture as well as provide UV protection. The Evo Fabuloso Pro colour intensifiers are added to the Conditioner to give you a customised colour intensifying conditioner.

Why should I choose tape extensions over beads or wefts?Tape Extensions are a great alternative to other semi-permanent extensions as tape application process is more gentle on the scalp, easier to remove and results in less chances of matting or damaging the hair.

How often do I have to get them re-done?At Stefan, we offer a complimentary 2 week check-up. This involves a complimentary Blow-dry and allows for your stylist to check on the extensions, the placement and the movement.We recommend a 6 week re-tape from your original service date to move the extensions back up towards your scalp. This re-taping service is $100 per packet. If you have had 2 packets of extensions put in your hair, it would cost $200 to have them re-taped.How many times can I have them re-taped?We only recommend retaping extensions one time. If your tape extensions have been kept in amazing condition, we may re-tape a 2ndtime (approx. 12 weeks) from your original appointment. This will be at the discretion of your stylist.

How do I look after my tape extensions?- Treat like your own hair - No swimming- No oil based haircare products (ie. Argan, coconut oil)- Dry immediately after washing- Keep hair treatments away from the tape to stop it loosening up the tape - Loosely braid hair when sleeping- Comb twice daily- Use salon quality haircare products as prescribed by your Stefan stylist

Can I have my hair coloured on the same day as having tape extensions?This will vary for each person. Most of the time it is fine to colour and apply extensions on the same day. However, if your hair is holding any excess oil or slip after the colour service, we may not be able to do the extensions on the same day because the tape will not hold in your hair. We also cannot perform any treatments on your hair on the same day as getting extensions. If your natural hair is in amazing condition, very healthy and is likely to not hold the extensions, we can do a tape test prior to applying.